Bad Wolf Bay
by nerdpower
Summary: Begins at the end of Journey's End, where Rose and Meta-Crisis Doctor are left on Bad Wolf Bay. Fast forward one year and the Doctor is critically ill, and Rose doesn't know why. The only person who can save him is the real Doctor, but which one?


I looked at my Doctor. My new Doctor. He looked the same, he felt the same, he spoke the same. He had the same manic hair and the same delighted smile. I could see him looking at me, staring right back into my eyes. I turned my head back to where my other Doctor, the real Doctor, had disappeared moment ago. Whisked himself away, along with his TARDIS and his new companion. I couldn't help wondering if he picked her because she was ginger. He always wanted to be ginger.

"Rose?" I felt mum's hand touch my shoulder. It took me a few seconds to pull my eyes away from the stop the TARDIS had vanished. When I finally met her eyes she pulled me into a hug. "Maybe it's time to go home. Pete will be wondering how we are. You know he didn't want us to go."

I nodded my head but I still didn't move, not until I felt his hand slip into mine and tug me away from where I was stood, frozen. I looked up into his eyes. My human Doctor. He said he'd grow old, and that he's only got one heart. And he loves me. He said so. He told me. I squeezed his hand and smiled up at him, after all, a half-human, half-time lord Doctor was better than no Doctor at all. And he was just like my Doctor. Same memories and everything. The only difference between them being that this one will grow old. He won't regenerate. He'll stay with me.

"I have something for you," he whispered in my ear. "Close your eyes."

I did as he told me, but tightened my grip when he tried to take his hand away from mine. He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. I reluctantly let go and felt him slip something else into my hand. I opened my eyes and gazed down at the object in my hand.

"Is this…can it…is it for…"

"The TARDIS."

"But…how?" I couldn't think of words to describe the excited bubble that had formed in my stomach and continued to expand.

"The Doctor, the real one, gave it to me. It connects to the TARDIS phone, no matter where it is. He said not to use it too often, because once it runs out of charge, it can only be topped up by the sonic, and I don't have one of them. It's switched off now. He said only turn it on if it's an emergency."

I threw myself at him, hugging him as ferociously as I could. With my head buried into his shoulder, I realised that he even smelt the same. He stroked my hair and held me too him. I was pretty sure that he was smelling me too, and I laughed into his neck.

"You two, come on. I've just text Pete, he wants to know what's been going on, let's go! I'm dying for a cuppa!"

I grinned at my mum and opened the car door. The Doctor got into the back seat and started feeling around in his pockets, seeing if there were any other messages or objects.

"I fancy some chips, can we stop off at a chippy on the way home?"

"God, you really haven't changed at all, have you?" Came his voice from behind me. I stretched my arm out behind me as he reached forward. Our hands met and locked in the middle, not letting go for the entire ride home.

* * *

**One year later.**

"Mum! MUM!" I shouted desperately. Where the hell was she? "_MUM!" _I screamed in frustration and ran to the door, changing my tactics. "_DAD! COME HERE! NOW!" _I ran back to the Doctor and sat at his head, stroking back his hair.

"What? What is it?" They both burst through the door, but stopped dead when they saw what was before them.

"I don't know what's wrong with him." I whispered. "I just…I woke up this morning, and he said he had a headache, so I went to get him a cup of tea, and when I came back up…"

"What should we do, should we call an ambulance?" said Pete. I barely glanced at my dad before returning to gaze to the Doctor.

"He's still half a time lord. He should've been able to fight off a headache. I don't want him going to the hospital, they run too many tests. Call around Doctor McKinley."

"Rose, it's a Saturday, he'll-"

"I DON'T CARE! CALL HIM! IF HE DOESN'T COME OVER I'LL GO AND GET HIM MYSELF!"

He backed out of the room, and after a few moments hesitation, Mum followed. I looked back down at the Doctor. His face was clammy and deathly pale. His normally uncontrollable hair was lank and his eyes, usually so vibrant and bright, were half closed. Only flickering every now and then.

For the 20 minutes it took Doctor McKinley to arrive at the house, I sat there crying, staring at the Doctor, trying to will him better with my mind. Every now and then his breathing would spike and my stomach would jolt, expecting him to sit up and shake his head and run his hands through his hair and ask what had happened, but he didn't. He just stayed in my arms, lying cold as a stone, breaking my heart.

"Rose, honey, Doctor McKinley's here. Come and have a cup of tea while we wait." I let Mum pick me up and lead me to the kitchen, where she sat me down, placed a mug in front of me and sat opposite.

I stared at the wisps of steam coming from the mug, unable to comprehend what was happening. "What if…"

Mum reached forward and grasped my hand. I looked into her eyes, failing to blink back tears, instead letting them fall. "Mum, what if he doesn't make it?"

"Of course he'll make it, Rose! He's a time-lord!"

"But he isn't! He's a human, or he may as well be when it comes to illness! He doesn't regenerate, Mum. He dies! Just like us."

"Rose, you listen to me, he _isn't _going to die. He's still alive now isn't he? He's still breathing, he's still living, he's still fighting. For you. He wouldn't leave you Rose, just like you wouldn't leave him. He's going to get better. I promise."

I pushed my mug away and held her gaze. "How do you know?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but shut it again when a quiet cough came from behind me. I turned to see Doctor McKinley stood with my dad. Neither of them looking me in the eye.

"How is he? What's wrong with him?" I demanded, pushing back my chair and standing up. Mum stood too, and crossed the kitchen to stand with my dad. He whispered something to her, but I couldn't see her face to tell what her reaction was. I turned back to Doctor McKinley. "Well?"

"He's, uhm, his condition doesn't seem to be getting any better. There doesn't seem to be a specific definition of what his illness is..."

"How long does he have?" My voice cracked, and I moved back to rest myself against the chair. I felt too weak to carry my own thoughts, never mind my own weight.

"I'm not sure. A few days, maybe."

At the word days I jolted up and pushed passed the three of them, heading straight for our room. He was lying in the exact same position as before, the only thing that seemed to have changed was that he looked paler, if that were possible.

"Rose." I ran to him and knelt next to him. I took his hand in mine and pushed the stray hairs from his head. He'd opened his eyes halfway, which was as far as he could manage.

"What is it? What do you need?" I asked desperately, forcing myself not to scream, but to keep my voice light and stable.

"Just you." He whispered, and tried to raise a smile. It lasted for a couple seconds, before it fell and he lapsed into heavy breathing.

"Don't be stupid, tell me what you need! You might not be able to regenerate but that doesn't mean you don't have brain! I know you know what's wrong with you! Tell me what you need to get better!"

I stared at him indignantly until he eventually sighed, his body deflating even further, and said 'Him.'

It dropped his hand and stood up, instantly understanding. "Really?"

He tried to nod, but in reality his head only moved a couple centimetres. "Rose, trust me. He's the only one that can help."

"I- I'll be right back." I stammered, before backing from the room.

5 minutes later I was sat on the roof of the house. It's a good thing that my Dad is rich, because back on real Earth, nothing was a secret on Powell Estate. People could find you in a matter of minutes. I knew I was being selfish, sitting out here on my own, when I should be in there with the Doctor, holding his hand and making him better.

I flipped open the phone and opened the address book. There was only one entry in there. TARDIS PHONE. My finger hovered over the call button as my stomach knotted and twisted and thrashed about inside me. I took a deep breath and pushed call.

"Hello?" My breath caught in my throat. "Hello?"

"Doctor?"

For a few seconds there was silence before… "Rose?"

"Uhm, yeah, it's me. Hi."

"Hi," he laughed, and I could picture him there, at the console, pushing his hand through his hair and smiling. Was someone there with him? Donna? Or someone else, someone new? Were they stood impatiently, wondering who was holding them up from their next adventure. Wondering who the hell Rose was. "How're you…what do you…hi."

"I need your help. It's the Doctor. The other one."

His tone was suddenly serious, and I could sense him standing up straight, his brow furrowing. "What is it?"

"He's…there's something wrong with him," I couldn't keep the tears out of my voice. "We don't know what it is. He said you're the only one who could help him."

"But Rose, you're in a parallel universe. I can't get there. You know this."

"But we've done it before! Twice! No, three times! Maybe more! You have to do something, Doctor! You have to save him! He doesn't have long and I can't-"

"Rose-"

"He can't die, Doctor. He can't."

"Okay, it's okay! I'll work something out, I'll be there as soon as possible. I'll get there. Go to Bad Wolf Bay. I'll meet you there. I'll be there. I promise. But Rose, one more thing-"

"Doctor, the battery!"

"ROSE!"

I screamed in frustration and hurled the phone off the roof. It smashed down in the driveway and burst into scattered pieces.

"Rose?" I looked over the edge and saw Mum standing there, looking up at me and shielding her eyes from the sun. "What're you doing?"

I ignored her and stood up, making my way over to the door. I didn't want to leave the Doctor, but I had to get to Bad Wolf Bay, and I had to get there soon. I'd been enough times to know the direction by now, and how long it would take me to get there.

I was throwing some bags into the jeep when Dad came out. He walked over and pulled me into a hug. "Where are you going?"

"Bad Wolf Bay. The Doctor's coming."

"Bad Wolf Bay? Rose, you can barely drive to the shops, how the hell do you plan on getting to the Bay?"

"I'll get there, it's going to be fine. Look, Dad, don't worry about me, okay? I wouldn't leave if I didn't have to, but he's coming, and I've got to be there."

He looked at me for a few moments, and I knew he understood. He sighed and let go of me. "When will you be back?"

"As soon as possible, I promise. I'm going to go say bye to Mum and the Doctor. Look after him for me, while I'm gone?"

"Of course we will. But you'll have to be quick. Doctor McKinley said he only has a few days."

I nodded tightly, not able to speak anymore. I averted my gaze and made my way into the house, straight up to the bedroom.

"Doctor, he's coming. I'm going to get him. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

His eyes flickered again, and he looked at me as best he could. I could see him gathering up all of his strength to breath out the words "I love you."

"I know, and I love you too." I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the lump in my throat. "You're going to be fine, just keep on resting."

His eyes closed and I stayed by his side a few seconds, making sure his breathing was regular, and then I left before I could convince myself not to. Mum and Dad were waiting for me by the car. I knew they wouldn't try and convince me to stay, but I could tell they wanted to.

"Be safe," said Mum, stroking my hair.

"I will, don't worry." I climbed into the car and put in the key. "I'll see you soon."

And then I reversed out the driveway, crunching over the phone as I made my way out to Bad Wolf Bay.

I'm not sure how long I was sat there, doing nothing but staring. It felt like hours, but it might have been minutes. I knew it hadn't been too long, because it was still daylight. I guessed it was around 5 o' clock, but I couldn't be sure because the clock in the jeep busted a long time ago.

By the time I heard it, it was around 7. The night was turning from a baby blue to a mixture of pinks and oranges, and the moon was climbing higher in the sky. I threw open the door and ran toward the sound, kicking up sand and stones in my wake. I couldn't help but grin when the TARDIS appearing in front of me, arriving as if from nowhere. Without pausing to think about anything, I threw open to door and ran straight into the console room.

* * *

The greeting I received wasn't the greeting I'd expected. For one, the TARDIS had a different interior. It wasn't _too _different, but still, it felt weird. The second thing I saw was a girl standing at the console, looking at me with curious eyes. She had flaming red hair, but she wasn't Donna. The third thing I noticed was the Doctor. My Doctor. But he wasn't, he was new. We all stood silently for a few moments, me and the Doctor staring at each other while the red-haired girl looked between us.

"Hello," he said. I was confused, to say the least. His voice was different, why hadn't I noticed it on the phone? Why hadn't I picked up on it?

"Your voice…"

"Ah, yes, my voice. I was wondering about that too. The only explanation I can think of is that the TARDIS let you hear his voice instead of mine because that's what you wanted to hear. She remembers you, you know, the TARDIS."

I stepped up on the console platform and placed a hand on the dashboard. "It's different."

"It changed with me."

"When did you…"

"Not too long ago. Amy's been with me for a while. We've just had a visit from the Weeping Angels."

I must have looked at him blankly, at least that's how I felt inside, because he suddenly looked embarrassed.

"Different companion, right, not me."

"What do you mean _different companion_?" Demanded a voice from behind me. I turned to see who I assumed was Amy standing imperiously behind me, hands on her hips, cheeks flaring red.

"What?" Me and the Doctor seemed to speak as one. I guessed we still had some sort of connection, even though his face had changed.

"Well how many have you had? Who did you have before me? Do you just chop and change as you please? Are you going to just leave _me _on some parallel universe?"

I took a step back from her, into the console. "He didn't leave me," I whispered.

"Oh, of course he did, he left you here with that human Doctor guy and left again. That's why we're hear isn't it?"

"Amy!" Her eyes widened at the intensity of his voice, and after a couple seconds she dropped her gaze and moved over to sit on the chair, looking thoroughly beaten.

The Doctor lifted his gaze from her and turned his eyes to me. I searched for some of the old enthusiasm, the old spark we used to get when we saw each other. There was a flicker of something, but then he got down t business. "Okay, what's the problem?"

"I don't know. He just woke up with a headache, and by the time I got back upstairs with a cup of tea," at this, the Doctor couldn't help but smirk at me a little, "he'd gotten so much worse."

"Come on then, we'd better get going," he said, walking toward the door and dragging Amy up with him as well.

"Aren't we going by TARDIS?" I asked, looking around the room which was similar, but at the same time so new and different.

"Nope, sorry. The TARDIS can only land at one place in this universe. If it tries to go anywhere else then who knows what would happen. I presume it'd be thrown into the void, which we don't want."

I followed him to the car, watching him get into the drivers seat. "Woah, woah, woah, what are you doing?"

"Driving," he said simply. "Where's the start button?"

I held up the car keys and grinned at him. "Move over, there's no way you're driving. Especially if you think there's a _start button._"

He pouted at me but moved over to the passenger seat, bouncing up and down and wriggling about on the seat. I jammed the key into the ignition and brought the car into action.

"And where am _I _going to sit?" Asked Amy, standing just in front of the car.

"In the back," I said simply. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at how demanding she was as she stomped round to the back of the car.

For the entire ride she huffed and pouted and made her dislike for me pretty clear. I couldn't blame her, she was obviously very possessive about her Doctor, just like I was with mine. I smirked a little as I remembered the various encounters with other women. Reinette was the worst, I think, and Sarah Jane too, for a while, but that passed quite quickly. A lump rose to my throat as I recalled the Doctors words when I'd asked him if I was just the latest companion, and if he was just going to replace me.

"_No, not you."_

I could see this new Doctor looking at me curiously, but I kept my eyes on the road. Staring but not really seeing.

When we pulled back into the driveway, Mum was sat on the porch. She looked tense, and she was gripping a mug like it was a stress ball.

"Rose!" She cried. "Pete! PETE! She's back!"

I got out of the car as Mum flung herself at me, hugging me within an inch of my life. The Doctor stood there awkwardly, looking up at the house, and Amy grudgingly got out of the car and went to stand next to him.

"How is he?" I asked, searching her eyes for a giveaway.

"He…he isn't any better," Mum looked over at the Doctor. "Is he…?"

"Oh, yeah, he regenerated again. Mum this is the new Doctor and his…and Amy."

Mum nodded and the signalled for the Doctor to follow her into the house. He did so as I leant back against the car and closed my eyes. I heard the sound of gravel crunching as Amy approached me and leaned next to me.

"He's going to be okay," she said quietly. "The Doctor…he's a genius. He can save anyone. But you probably already know that."

I looked at her and I saw her expression had softened. She'd probably realised I wasn't out to steal her Doctor away from her, I just wanted mine back.

"I just…I don't know what I'll do without him," I choked out.

"Hey, you'll be fine! You're Rose Tyler! I know I seem a little…off with you, but that's because he talks about you sometimes. Not often, but every now and then he'll say something, and I can tell it hurts him. He might have a new face, but he still misses you."

I stared into her eyes and I could see that this fact killed her. She was like me when I first met the Doctor. Amazed by him, fascinated, infatuated. The danger that comes with travelling with him doesn't matter at all, not compared to the feeling you get when you're in the doorway of the TARDIS, travelling past a supernova and laughing about the crazy ant lady who tried to take over the world.

I was about to say all this, but instead I pushed myself off the car and started into the house. I turned to see if she was coming too. I couldn't deal with this on my own. She nodded, as if hearing and understanding what I was thinking, and came to join me.

When I entered the room, it took all the control I had not to run straight back out again. Instead, I gave Amy's hand a final squeeze before walking over to sit on the bed and place my Doctor's head in my lap. I looked over to the real Doctor, waiting for him to do something, to fix him.

He walked forward, taking out his Sonic and concentrating hard as he changed some of the settings. Starting from his feet, the Doctor ran the Sonic Screwdriver over the length of my Doctor's body. I didn't know what he was scanning for, and I didn't know if it was working, all I could do was sit there and hope.

The Doctor tucked his Sonic back into the pocket of his jacket. I stared at him, waiting for him to tell me what was wrong, and how he was going to fix it. He didn't say anything.

"Doctor?" I said.

"He's dying. There's nothing I can do." As he said this, Amy brought her hand to her mouth. Her eyes welled up with tears and I knew she was imagining what it would be like to be me. What she would be feeling if she lost her Doctor.

I stood up slowly, and walked up to the Doctor. "Heal him," I said, my voice shaking violently.

"I can't."

"What do you mean you _can't? _Of course you can! You're the DOCTOR! _This is what you DO!_"

"Rose, listen to me. I want to, I do. There's nothing more I want in the entire world right now that for you to be happy, and for you to be able to carry on living here with your Doctor, but I can't. I've thought through every single thing that could be wrong with him and there's no cure for it."

"So it is a thing then?" Asked Amy, walking forward a bit. "It's been brought on by something? It's not just some random Time-Lord disease?"

"He's not a Time-Lord, he's only half. Half Time-Lord, half Human. It means he won't regenerate." The Doctor explained to her.

"I still don't know what regeneration is," she said, slightly impatient, like she was missing out on a huge chunk of information that everyone already knew, which she was, really.

"When the Doctor is about to die, every single atom in his body changed. Everything about him, save for his memories and knowledge, things like that, is completely new. New face, new voice, new personality." I told her, not taking my eyes from the Doctor. "So what it is? What's caused it? _How can you fix it?"_

"It's my regeneration." He said, not meeting my eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"My regeneration," he repeated. "When I regenerated from him to me, something must have happened. I don't know what, I'm sorry, but there's no way of reversing it. I think even if there was, he's too far gone."

"But you haven't even _tried! _All you've done is scan him! You haven't even attempted to save him!" I broke down then, I'd managed for such a long time to keep all of it in, but I snapped. I collapsed into his arms, sobbing humongous tears. I beat his chest and shouted in his face. My whole life was torn to pieces while he stood there and held me tight.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Rose."

"_Rose."_

I hiccupped a couple times as I turned to look at my Doctor. His eyes were sunken into their sockets, and his lips were chapped. I fell to my knees beside him, trying to stop the flow of tears.

"_Don't cry, my Rose. I'm going to be fine, and you will be too."_

"Please don't leave me," I begged, slipping my hand into his. "I can't live without you, I love you too much."

"_You thought you could live without him too, remember? But you did, you were fine."_

"That was because I had _you! _If you go I don't have anyone."

The Doctor put his hand on the top of my head, stroking my hair, and I leaned into him. "I'll miss you," I whispered.

"_I'll miss you too, but I won't ever forget you. I love you."_

I sat next to him, stroking his hair as his breathing grew fainter. I forced myself not to tremble, to be brave, as his last breath left him, and as he left me. I looked up to see the Doctor holding Amy to him as she cried silently, but his eyes were locked on mine.

* * *

The drive back to Bad Wolf Bay was painfully silent. Mum and Dad sat in the front, with me, Amy and the Doctor squashed into the back. The only time anyone spoke was when they thought I was sleeping. When we reached the Bay, everything was exactly the same as I'd left it before. The TARDIS wasn't too far off, parked against a wall of rocks.

"Does anyone want a cup of tea?" said Amy, stepping out of the car.

We all walked toward the TARDIS, still not speaking. The Doctor unlocked the doors and threw them opening. The machine buzzed, as if it were welcoming him home.

"Pete, Jackie, kitchens just down there. Can you go get the tea?"

As my parents hurried out of the console room, followed by Amy, I moved to sit down on the small white chair. The Doctor sat next to me and took my hand in his.

"Doctor, do you know what happens…after?"

"No, I don't, and I don't think I'll ever find out either. I have no idea how many regenerations are packing into this body of mine. I do think that he'll be just fine."

"Do you think he'll remember me?"

"Of course he will, you're impossible to forget."

"What am I going to do now?"

"I don't know. The way I see it, you've for three options. One, go about your everyday life, dealing with it as best you can. Two, tell me where you want to go, and I'll drop you off there and you can start a new life."

"What's the third option? I don't really like the sounds of them two."

"You can come with me."

* * *

Hello there people of :] This is my first DW fic I've written, so try to be nice, okay! I hope you enjoyed it :)

x Leigh.


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